Céad Míle Fáilte
It is Todd once again. In this issue we have a new episode of our own Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. The other featured podcasts are Irish Music Stories & Jock’s Celtic Calamity. We also have another list of ne albums. The highlighted articles are about an initiative by the National Museum of Ireland, a Cornwall restaurant earning a Michelin star, & an album of rare and early recordings. The spotlighted festival is the Doolin Russell Festival taking place on February 20 – 23 in and around Doolin, County Clare, Ireland. We hope you enjoy this issue. Until next time, Sláinte mhaith!
IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST #746: NEW IRISH FOLK FIRE
- Aisling Drost Byrne, Brendan McCarthy, Conal O'Kane, Lane to the Glen, Sean Heely, Beth Patterson, Alex Sturbaum, Jen Midkiff, Possibly Irish, Sue Tillotson, Jim Cunningham, ISHNA, Countercurrent, Socks in the Frying Pan, The Crazy Rogues, Mick Craig, Julien Loko Irish Band, Irish Millie
- A special thanks to our long time listener, Maia Lazar.
CAST YOUR VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20
- Every year, I publish the Celtic Top 20. This is your pick of the best, most-popular songs of the year. But to make the show great, I need you to vote for your favorite songs in each episode.
- Just list each of the bands performing those favorite songs to quickly and easily cast your vote.
WHAT'S NEW WITH CELTIC MUSIC
& CULTURE ONLINE?
NEW CELTIC ALBUMS
- Far End of the Road – by Tiller's Folly
- Angellyz – by Angellyz
- Riding Towards Life – by Evergreen
- An Iuchair – by Alasdair White
- Whispering Moss – by Brumavia
- Water from the Stone – by Summer Russell
- One Shiny Morning – by Jerry Rockwell
- Alchemize My Soul – by J. Yentle
- Home – by Tom Richardson
- Vau Cureñas – by NAHEBA
Attn Bands: Go to 4celts.com to submit your band to the podcast.
IRISH MUSIC STORIES: SINGING OUT AND LIFTING UP
- For this installment of Irish Music Stories, host Shannon Heaton tucks into an old jig that has become known as The Morning Lark. It’s an exploration of cartoonists and journalists, and the power of names … and name calling.
- Above all, it’s a celebration of a little jig in D that continues to resonate and transform.
IRELAND REMEMBERING ITSELF WITH HELP FROM PEOPLE WHO LEFT
- AN INITIATIVE by the National Museum of Ireland is helping people across the country to preserve their local history, while also providing a connection for the Irish around the world.
- The Irish Community Archive Network (iCAN) works with local volunteers to gather, digitise and share community records, from photographs and letters to oral histories, maps and place names.
To read more, go here!
JOCK'S CELTIC CALAMITY: SHOW # 570
- Cunla, Alma , Gráinne Brady & Claire Hastings, Gary Innes, Skipinnish, Torridon, Tern, Skreel, Ryan Young, Nova, Alice Macmillan, The Mick West Band, The Iron Horse, The Halton Quartet, Ross Kennedy & Archie McAllister, Tannas, Old Blind Dogs, Jonny Hardie & Gavin Marwick, Calum MacPhail & All Folk'd Up, Heal & Harrow, Chris Duncan, Catherine Strutt, & Julian Thompson, Mairearad and Anna, Westward the Light, Tide Lines, Rhuvaal, Angus Nicolson Trio
ADAM HANDLING'S UGLY BUTTERFLY EARNS MICHELIN STAR A YEAR AFTER BEING KICKED OUT OF CARBIS BAY HOTEL
- A Cornwall restaurant has been awarded a coveted Michelin star less than a year after reopening in a new location.
- Ugly Butterfly by Adam Handling received the prestigious accolade at the Michelin Guide Ceremony yesterday (Monday, February 9) in Dublin.
To read more, go here!
SONGS THAT GOT AWAY – IRISH ICONS OF 1980S TURN BACK YEARS WITH ALBUM OF RARITIES AND EARLY RECORDINGS
- One of Ireland’s most successful bands of the late 1980s have revisited their back catalogue for a new album on Sony Music featuring some of their earliest recordings, fan favourites and rarities, all available digitally for the first time.
- Songs That Got Away: 1984-1990 will be released on March 13, exactly 40 years to the day since the band took the ferry across the Irish Sea from Wexford to London to sign a major record deal with CBS/Epic Records in 1986.
To read more, go here!
DOOLIN RUSSELL FESTIVAL
- This Irish Traditional Music festival held in Doolin, Co. Clare, falls on the last full weekend in February annually. It is a remembrance event celebrating the Russell family; Micho, Packie and Gussie Russell, the world-famous traditional musicians from the area.
- Some of the entertainers you will see are Peter Street, Ann Kirrane, Dermont Byrne, Garry O’Briain, Ronan Green, & more!
WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHILE LISTENING?
You can send a comment or a picture of what you're doing. You can also send a photo from one of your trips to a Celtic nation or anywhere around the globe.
Slainte!
Todd Wiley (he/him) & Marc Gunn (he/him), The Celtfather
February 12, 2026
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